Waving not drowning

The Stop Climate Change Coalition organised a huge demonstration last Saturday in London, where the 50K demonstrators wore blue and gave a great big wave in favour of action against climate change. Gordon Brown invited some of the demonstrators back to Number 10 for a chin wag and The Wave received huge media coverage. I wanted to be there - I really did. Blue is not my colour but I would have forsworn my usual funereal get up in favour of a dandy blue outfit, but it was not to be. Why not? Train fares. Ironic really - transport change is rather key to the climate change movement, but somebody forgot to tell the rail companies that. Instead I stayed at home and checked up on progress via the web. Is the Internet the new train? No it is not - I didn't get pushed along in a wave of enthusiasm and hope, marvelling at the strength of belief and great outfits - no, I gave a little plaintive shout out to those with strong conviction and possibly a rail pass- thanks guys, I was with you at my kitchen table.

There has been a lot of talk this week about manipulated data on human activity affecting climate change - get the low down on http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8394483.stm
However, believe what you like (and I do believe), we are in a mess. Blame whoever or whatever you like, but sea levels are rising and oil supply is getting shorter - ergo, humans have to act. Even if you don't want to think about peak oil (it's not sexy after all), take a trip out to your local landfill - bring a flask and sandwiches with you - it's lovely this time of year. We are wasteful beings: for some the R's of reduce, re-use, recycle are more the D's, Dispose, Dump and Don't give a XXXX. So whatever you believe, let's not just buy buy buy, without considering the life cycle of the item - especially at Christmas.

Take a leaf out of this book

I would be a happy bunny if I only got books for Christmas - piles and piles of lovely books - but what I really love is a second hand book where you find something interesting left by another owner nestled amongst the pages. I just love it when you find an old train ticket which marks a page and you can imagine the reader hunkered down from Newcastle to London reading Great Expectations and drinking extortionate and quite revolting coffee - Pip kept him going on that journey for sure. Or a shopping list on the back of an old envelope - bleach, gorgonzola, tin of bears (let's hope that the writer just has appalling handwriting), balsamic vinegar, plums. Imagination running wild.

Anyway, I know not everyone has my love of second hand books, but I do love to give them away to friends and family almost as much as I love to receive them. The libraries in my area do this really great deal where you can fill a carrier bag with books they no longer lend out, for a pound - yes £1. The best thing about it is the eclectic mix you pick up - classics and cowboys, thrillers and theology - stuff you might well not pick up from the normal library shelves and would definately eschew if paying full (or charity shop) prices. I have had some real crackers and if you can get a little collection together of similar style stuff, they make great stocking fillers. Check out your own library for these great bargains (also wonderful if you want to find books on the best B&Bs in 1974!)

May I also draw your attention to a wonderful website where you can sell your own old books and buy other second hand ones - www.greenmetropolis.com is a real find for the bibliophile and the browser alike -you pay £3.75 for a book and receive £3.00 for selling your own - plus for every book sold they make a donation to the Woodland Trust - take a look sometime.

Go second hand - you never find a crumnpled postcard of Bridlington in a new book do you!

Say Cheese

I am an official artisanal cheese maker - well it's official in our house. I cannot beieve how easy it is to make some paneer type cheese. All it takes is whole milk, lemon juice, muslin and a certain degree of excitement.


Bring 2 litres of WHOLE milk to the boil (good size stock or jam pan is perfect), remove from the heat and slowly add about 5 tablespoons of lemon juice - watch with amazement as the curds seperate from the whey. Cover the pan and leave it for about 2 hours to allow full seperation. Line a colander with muslin and drain all the liquid from the curds - then gather the muslin together and tie into a bag - hang this bag over a bowl so that all the liquid drains out - I left this bag for about 3 hours. Mould the cheese to however you fancy it (great big dollop shape in my case) and stick it in the fridge - it lasts for about four days and is just superb in a chickpea and squash curry.

I have to travel a substantial distance to buy paneer so this has got to be a green way to make my favourite curry - and quite a giggle too.

By the way, Greg's pheasant casserole was well worth having to have the bin emptied!!!

Fresh air is FREE

Just spent the most wonderful short break in Scotland. We had 3 nights in the Trossachs and the scenery took my breath away. We climbed a heck of a big hill (still not big enough to be classed as a MOnroe or a Corbett thought!!) and the view at the top was one of the most spectacular I have ever witnessed -lakes and mountain in a 360 vista - goregous. It's called Ben Venue for anyone who fancies having their breath taken away.
I was a slow learner when it came to walking, especially in an up-hill manner, but now it has to rank as my number one activity. All that wonderful exercise and for nothing more than the price of some decent kit which should last a very long time indeed if you invest wisely.
I have so enjoyed holidaying in the UK this year - I have particularly loved not having any airport hassle and being able to decide for ourselves when we want to set off and come back. That's not to say i'm not going to have foreign holidays any more, but a nice balance.

Bit of a disaster on the bin front - a friend has very kindly given us a brace of pheasants, so all the gubbings has had to go in the bin -so looks like I should get rid of that before it attracts unwelcome guests - never mind, I am sure the casserole will be worth the guilt.

Bingo and drums

Not much to do with being green, but felt the need to share this great experience I had on Saturday night. A local venue put on a 'gig' which consisted of a Bingo night where the caller is accompanied by a percussion artist. She calls to the refrains of what sounded like someone pulling teeth without anasthetic (that was the desired effect!!)It was a brilliant night - priceless entertainment - thanks to all at The Shed.

I say that it hasn't got anything to do with being green, but that's not the case really. While I try to reduce my consumption of STUFF - I replace shopping with real and different experiences - well this one took the biscuit - actually I took the biscuit, being the very proud winner of a packet of custard creams - oh yes, jealous now eh? I also won a box of tumblers - it just gets better and better.

check out www.theshed.co.uk for more ideas of great nights out

Bin still empty!!

Best Bin in the village (possibly)

I've done it before, so I can do it again - oh yes I can. In the Spring I didn't put the bin out for two months - not because I am lazy or wanted to put the 'recycling officers'(?)' backs out - but because I wanted to have a real crack at reducing our household waste. We managed it quite well, but admittedly was very happy to get the bin emptied - it wasn't actually full even then, but it was a wee bit pongy. So I am going to have another go, because I have noticed that I have slipped back into some bad old ways, such as buying things in those ridiculous plastic containers - you know the ones you get two fishcakes in, or some other daft produce that are a lot cheaper and much, much nicer to make yourself. I stopped all unnecessary packaging purchases when I wasn't putting rubbish in the bin - it focuses the mind. So, having another go, but rather than saying I am going to leave it two months etc, just going to see how long I can do it for. The green waste bin will go out as usual of course.
This time, I am going to hibernate the kitchen bin too.
So, I had a jolly good scrub of the wheelie bin yesterday in readiness for its little adventure - nice job I must say. There was something rather nasty stuck to the bottom and when I finally got it out it was stil unidentifiable- lovely!

So here we go, take a few months off council collecting person and see you when I see you!

whooooa- first time out

I have had enough of just boring myself and my nearest and dearest, so throwing my thoughts and actions open to the elements (well hyperspace or whatever its real nerdy name is).
Brief introduction - I am a teeny tiny person doing teeny tiny things to try and live lightly. I will talk [about] rubbish a lot; I get very excited by compost and worms, and will rant on about not chucking stuff out. I might even bore you with anecdotes such as when I recently stopped a man throwing an old fashioned, leather cornered suitcase into a skip - I had plans for it and it now sits all clean and sparkly on my chapel-rescued pew, full of my winter scarves and gloves. Bored yet?
You can join me on every little challenge I take - cheer at my grim determination and laugh at my failures(I am sure there will be many). You can shout 'hypocrite' when I get on a plane and call me mad when I tell you about my toliet flushing habits!
I'm sharing my green attempts with anyone who will listen (read?) because I hope it will help me stay focused and, who knows, may even provide a little entertainment.
Intros over - off to think how to proceed.